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In China, large and closely-knit families are quite common. They have extended family all living together, and 'homes' for the elderly are absolutely unheard of. In fact, the elderly are treated with the utmost respect, and cared for as best as possible. The entire family is supposed to get together at meal times, and closeness of family itself is highly valued. However, there are also some smaller things that might make the system seem unfair to Americans. For example, children are expected to obey their parents without question. Also, it's expected quite naturally that everyone should marry there, and should be permanent.

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In China, the schooling system is rather different than in America. Chinese students have all the classes we have, such as math, language (though of course they learn Chinese in this rather than English), science, and social studies, as well as foreign language (aka English). However, most Chinese schools don't have music, art, or gym. Grade-wise, the system is similar. Students are, depending on age, placed into one of three groups; primary, which is elementary, secondary, for middle and high school, and post-secondary, for 10th through 12th grade. In each group, students spend a little longer in school. To get past primary, however, students have to take a test. Before entering high school and college, all students take a single test. This single test, and nothing else, is what will decide if they reach middle school or college, but the odds are ridiculous. Only 70% of students get into high school, and less than 30% get into college! Really, it's crazy. Another thing about Chinese schools; the high schools tend to be named after the city, and a number. For example, one of China's top schools (picture below) is called Beijing No.4.

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Most people think they have an idea of what Chinese food is like, from going to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant. However, there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. For one thing, Chinese eat many strange meats that Americans would cringe at. For example, dog and cat meat is, though not necessarily popular, a possible Chinese meal. The Chinese also believe that food can heal, or at least influence, the body. They separate foods by yin and yang, yin being 'cooler' foods such as melon and cucumber, and yang being spicier foods, such as garlic or peppers. Examples of this being put to use is that they would refrain from eating yin foods during the colder months, and keep from eating yang foods during summer. Many areas in China differ in regular cuisine as well.

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The country of China is communistic, which means that they have harsh rules, a good military, and strict order. It is dominated by the Chinese Communist Party, the military, and the State Council. The Chinese Communist party itself contains four smaller branch, which are the National Party Congress, the Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat. The National Party Congress has about 300 members, and handles voting for laws and such. The Central Committee is filled with more important party members, who are all elected by the National Party Congress. In total, it always has about 200 members. The Politburo, on the other hand, has a smaller group of 25 members, and an even smaller group within in, titled the Central Committee. It is in this committee that the president holds an office. Though the Politburo and Central Committee are technically the most important groups within the government, they aren't actually that influential. The Secretariat is the one that handles most daily work, so you could call them the most important. The symbol of the Chinese government represents all these. It is a red and yellow circle, with wheat and rice bordering it to represent agricultural workers, and a cog on the bottom representing industrial workers. The building inside of it symbolizes the gate to the Forbidden City, where the government was founded, and the stars represent the different government offices.

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China sprawls across Asia, approximately 3000 by 3500 miles around, as the third largest country in the world. As would suit such a country, it has a very diverse range of environments. On one side, it has the Turpan Depression, a wide plain of land that dips about 500 feet below sea level and the third lowest point on Earth, and on the other, Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world. On one side, the Gobi desert, a large desert that spans the northern side of China, and on the other, the Yangtze river, a river crossing a large portion of China, the third longest river in the world at about 4000 miles. The rest of China is covered by gigantic mountains and hundreds of rivers, as well as the occasional man made wonder.

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When someone talks about China, the first thing that pops into people's mind tends to be the Great Wall of China. A famous landmark, it spreads for five thousand miles along the border of China. As high as 42 feet high in some places, the Wall of China is truly a wonder of the world. It was mostly made in the period of the Qin dynasty, from 221 to 206 bc, taking thousands of men 15 years to build. Many workers died during the construction, and were buried within the walls, where they likely still rest today. It was originally created to keep out invaders. However, as it is made of clay, wood, and stone, with fifteen-foot tall ramparts, it is mostly used as a tourist attraction.

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A day in a typical Chinese high school student's life would last for 16 hours, with two two-hour breaks in between. In other words? Chinese high schoolers walk into school, completely ready, at 7 a.m. each morning. They then spend 5 hours straight with school. This might not be so bad if they could at least move around, but in China, there are no passing periods. Rather, the teachers move between classes. After these 5 hours of sitting still, you get 2 hours free. These can be spent eating lunch, hanging out, or, most often, studying more. You then get shoved back in school for another 3 hours, before being released. By this time, elementary students are out. But high schoolers? No way. They get another 2 hours of break, before going into evening studies. These include going over things with a teacher, homework, or more studying. By the time a Chinese student finally gets to go home, it's 11 o'clock at night. And then, they do it all again the next day. Why so crazy? Because, in China, only 30% of students get into college at all, so the high schoolers have to do their best.

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Chinese has about 3 major religions: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, though here we will only talk about the last 2. Confucianism is based on the ideas of Confucius, a famous Chinese philosopher, and is really more of a code to live by than a religion. It focuses on the ruling of people; the right of parents to rule their kids, men to rule women, and the educated to rule uneducated. It also prompts one to have respect for Chinese history and your ancestors, and was founded around 480 BC. Buddhism is considerably more recent, coming to China around 100 AD, and became famous around the 300s. Chinese Buddhism has many gods, like Taoism, and teaches rather harsh moral standards. They also believe in reincarnation. Another Chinese religion is Muslim, but very few practice it. The Chinese government repressed all these religions for a while, and though they lately have become more tolerant, they still destroy any larger movements.

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Taoism one of the two religions that was founded in China. It is based mostly on the book Tao Te Ching (The Classic of the Way and the Virtue), and focuses around the belief that one should be in harmony with nature. The religion was founded through many different smaller Chinese religions, so it includes elements of Chinese folk religion. This resulted in it having many gods, similar to the Greeks. Their symbol is the yin-yang, which represents that in all good, there is a bit of evil, and in all evil, there is a bit of good. As a matter of fact, the yin-yang became a rather famous symbol of balance over time.

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The amount of money China makes, as a country, is one of the largest in the world! However, in terms of per capita, or per person, China ranks grossly low. In fact, over half of the world’s countries makes more than them (in those terms). This is because the government controls most of the money in China. They control the largest factories, and the out-of-country trade, and claim most of the money they get along the way. As for the people, most get money through honest work. Many people work in factories, producing metals or mechanics, but the far majority of the country’s people work in agriculture. They produce things such as tea, wheat, potatoes, or corn, but one of their biggest exports in agriculture is rice.

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The chinese have a gigantic variety of musical instruments. These include string instruments, woodwinds (mostly flutes), harps, and lutes, which are a kind of instrument that is similar to a guitar, and only plucked. Some of these instruments have been around for thousands of years, such as the Gudi flute, which has been around for thousands of years. Actually, China has some of the oldest ever discovered instruments, such as the xun. This egg-shaped instrument is similar to an ocarina in shape, and can make music when blown into and pressing on holes on its surface. It dates back to 7000 years ago, before the dynasties even started!

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In China, art is a pretty big thing. They study arts such as painting, calligraphy, and sculptures. Painting has, in China, gone on for thousands of years. In fact, it is one of the oldest traditions in the world. To paint, they use materials such as ink, and they tend to use very thin strokes. They sculpt with clay or stone, and sculptures from all the way back to the Qin dynasty have been found. As for calligraphy, that is the same as writing. However, because of how Chinese characters are, it is considered as an art.

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China had a few historical practices in its time. The most famous one, and one of the cruelest, was foot binding. This consisted of every bone in a young girls' foot being broken, and the foot being folded in upon itself to make it smaller. Some women's feet were as small as 3 inches, feet so small they could fit into doll-like shoes, an example of which shown below. These small feet were seen as a sign of status and beauty, similar to how, for a period, small waists were seen as pretty in Britain.

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For 3000 entire years, China was ruled by dynasties. These dynasties ranged from peaceful to warring, political to educational. The very first dynasty ever was the Xia dynasty. It was really only a few tribes grouped together, but would set a precedent for years to come. The Western Zhou dynasty, the third dynasty ever, came along 400 years after. It bound together many smaller clans in China, creating the first big Chinese society. It lasted from 1000 to 771 bc. The next notable dynasty would be the Qin dynasty. It unified all of China, and made a form of government that lasted as long as the dynasties. Then, later along the line, came the Tang dynasty. This was the 17th dynasty, and considered the most prosperous one. They made huge growths in politics, economy, military, and diplomacy, influencing the whole world. The last dynasty ever, the Qing dynasty, went from 1644 to as recent as 1911, and then turned into the Republic of China.

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The Chinese have a currency called renminbi. This currency consists of three different types of coins: the yuan, the jiao, and the fen. These units act similar to dollars, dimes, and pennies, with yuan equalling ¥1, jiao equalling ¥0.10, and fen equalling ¥0.01. Overall, yuan is the standard unit, which is why their money sign is a Y. However, a single yuan is worth less than it looks. The renminbi currency used to be about equal in worth to the US currency, but the government devalued it to make the economy more competitive. Now, it is worth only $0.15. All of their paper currency has pictures of their current president on it, as shown below, where a picture of a single yuan is.

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The president of China, currently Xi Jinping, of whom there is a photo below, is truly more than just a president. In fact, the position itself is mostly symbolic. The president actually holds 3 positions within the Chinese government: the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, who leads the government; the Chairman of the Central Military Commissions, who is the leader of the military; and the first member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the group who makes all the important decisions.